


Battle Scars

by JustAnotherWriter140



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies)
Genre: A little bit of blood, A little bit of resentment on Tigress' side, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gen, Hardly any though, Non-graphic description of violence, Not that shippy but if you squint there's a lil bit, Po gets hurt and Tigress talks to him about stuff, She cares about him but doesn't want to admit it, Talking, They aren't really friends yet because of the time period, super light fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28083762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherWriter140/pseuds/JustAnotherWriter140
Summary: Tigress reluctantly tends to Po's injuries, and the two end up having a chat about scars.
Relationships: Po & Tigress (Kung Fu Panda), Po/Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)
Kudos: 15





	Battle Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 2021 everybody! :D
> 
> This story is slightly inspired by the masterpiece known as Avatar: The Last Airbender. More specifically, this is slightly inspired by a certain firebender called Zuko. That’s right kiddos, Mr. Honor himself!
> 
> I’m in love with Zuko’s character arc, from villain to ally. It’s probably my favorite redemption arc in any series ever.
> 
> Anyway, aside from that, I’ve always found Zuko’s scar interesting. We know how he obtained it, and the aftermath, but I kind of want to know how warriors (Like Zuko, for example) deal with the trauma caused by war and other things of that sort.
> 
> Another trauma-bonding fic from yours truly, even though I already wrote The Storms….
> 
> Enjoy! :D
> 
> POST-KFP1

Unlike how most people in the Valley of Peace were led to think, Po didn’t walk away from his fight with Tai Lung unscathed. Emotionally? He’d probably need a few months to recover. Physically? Despite it being unnoticeable at first, Po’d obtained a pulled shoulder muscle, along with a substantial gash, which was located on his left side. Unfortunately for him, it’d been hidden by his thick fur and large arms for just long enough for the wound to become infected.

With the infection came the pain, and the pain couldn’t go unnoticed for more than a few hours. Especially as it became more intense. Eventually, Po had to approach Shifu about the matter, much to both of their dismay. Shifu needed the Dragon Warrior to be ready for battle at any given moment, and Po hated confrontation with the red panda.

It was only when Po thought that he couldn’t get any unluckier was when he’d found out who’d be tending to his injuries; Master Tigress. She was his idol, yes, but he was terrified of her. Everything she did radiated intimidation and dominance; it didn’t exactly help that she practically despised him, either.

“This may sting a little.” Her voice suddenly interrupted Po’s thoughts. Before he could question what she was talking about, he felt as if his left side were on fire. A searing pain erupted from the site of the gash, causing Po to yelp in pain. He nearly fell off of the medical ward cot that he and Tigress were sitting on.

“A little?” Po questioned, his left side still in immense pain.

Tigress only scoffed in response, still pressing a medicine-soaked rag to Po’s injury.

“What is that, anyway?” Po asked, crinkling his nose. The medicine smelled strongly; there was a burning sensation in his nostrils whenever he breathed.

“How did you manage to go for two weeks without noticing this?” Tigress questioned incredulously, completely ignoring the panda’s question.

“I don’t know. It didn’t hurt.” Po shrugged, and a shot of pain erupted in his left shoulder. He grasped the shoulder with his right hand, gasping lightly from the sudden pain. “Would you happen to know when pulled muscles heal, by any chance?”

“I have a very hard time believing that an infected, five-inch wound across your abdomen didn’t hurt.” Tigress said, once again ignoring the panda’s inquiry.

“Believe me, so do I.”

Tigress hummed in thought briefly, then lifted the rag from the gash. Upon observing the piece of fabric, she noticed an expected blotch of blood, along with a few brown and yellow spots; due to the infection.

“Alright, so if you don’t want to tell me what’s on that rag, and you don’t want to tell me how long it takes for a pulled muscle to heal, could you at least tell me when this cut is gonna close up?” Po asked with a light sigh. “Master Shifu says that it needs to be mostly healed before I start training again.”

Tigress simply stared at him for a moment, somewhat surprised at Po’s sudden confidence. He’d only approached her with fear during previous interactions. “It’s not that deep; you should be free to train within the next two weeks or so,” She informed him as she glanced at the gash. “However, considering all factors of the situation, there’ll probably be a scar.”

“Really?” Po asked, excitement apparent in his voice. “Awesome!”

Tigress looked away from her first aid kit to give him a confused glance. “Excuse me?”

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve kinda wanted a scar,” Po told her, smiling excitedly all the while. “Nothing too gruesome, obviously, just something to show off to your friends!”

“You’d only get to do that for a few years, at most,” Tigress commented, lifting a roll of bandages out of her first aid kit. “All scars heal eventually. Then the only thing you have to show for your efforts is emotional trauma.”

“Fun.” Po muttered sarcastically.

He was about to tell some sort of lame joke to lighten the mood, but the thought of it left his mind as Tigress suddenly reached her arms around his shoulders. He was about to question her, but resisted the urge after he realized that she was wrapping a bandage around his shoulders and midsection. The feeling of her arms against his caused a blush to present itself on his face, and unfortunately for Po, it was rather easy for Tigress to see.

“So,” Po started. Upon hearing him speak, Tigress cleared her throat. “When do those emotional scars go away?”

“They don’t.” Tigress answered bluntly, staring at Po with the blankest face he’d ever seen.

“What do you mean?” Po asked. “You never forget about it? You never let it go?”

“Sometimes time can’t heal that kind of thing, panda.” Tigress responded solemnly. “The thing about emotional scars is this; they’re not something to be forgotten, they’re something to be remembered. They’re something that you’ll always have, no matter what you do. Sometimes you’ll think about them, sometimes you won’t. They’re something that one learns from.”

“What about Oogway’s philosophy?”

“Yesterday is history?” Tigress clarified. When Po nodded, she sighed. “I think you may have misjudged that phrase’s meaning.” She paused briefly, observing how intently Po was listening. She had his undivided attention, which was a new feeling. “When Master Oogway said that, he was implying that nothing can be done about yesterday. Whatever happened is unchangeable. He by no means meant that one should simply forget about yesterday.”

Po seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, and he slowly nodded. Tigress gave a curt nod, and lifted herself off of the cot.

Tigress was making her way towards the exit, when Po suddenly said, “Do you have any?”

She stopped dead in her tracks, causing Po to tense up slightly. She usually did that before she got angry, he’d noticed. “Excuse me?” She turned around halfway, now looking at the panda.

“Do you have any scars?” He asked, quieter this time. “Emotional ones, I mean.” When he received no response, he said, “You don’t have to tell me. I’d understand if you don’t want to.” Po gave her a soft smile.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was soon interrupted by the voice of her master.

“Tigress.” He addressed as he entered the infirmary. The red panda's gaze drifted past Tigress to Po, who was waving flamboyantly with a grin on his face. Shifu sighed lightly. Po’s constant optimism was tiring at times. “Estimated recovery time?” Shifu asked, turning to Tigress again.

“Like you said, master, it should be around two weeks.” Tigress told the red panda. Shifu gave a nod to both masters before walking out of the medical ward.

“I should get back to training.” Tigress stated after a moment. “I’d suggest getting some rest. I’ll be back to change your bandages in a few hours.”

“Okay.” Po nodded, his signature crooked smile on his face. “Thank you, Master Tigress.”

Tigress gave him a small nod before turning to leave; and Po could’ve sworn that he’d seen a hint of a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was also inspired by Lupe Fiasco and Guy Sebastian's "Battle Scars"
> 
> It's one of my favorite songs as of right now, and I listened to it on repeat while I wrote this.
> 
> I know that this story doesn't do this awesome song any justice, but I tried my best. In my opinion, it didn't turn out too bad. It could be better, yes, but it could also be worse.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this, despite how unbelievably time-consuming it ended up being. The number of hours I spent on this is legitimately embarrassing. XD
> 
> I cannot stress this enough: Please review/comment. I crave constructive criticism. I love writing, and I want to get better at it more than anything. Tell me what's wrong with it, and I'll do my best to fix it in my future works.
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed, and have an awesome day! :D
> 
> One more thing: If you haven’t seen the new Pixar movie “Soul”, I highly suggest watching it on Disney+! The animation is indescribably beautiful and it’s a really good story. It did, however, get a little sad in a scene or two, so have tissues on hand if you’re an emotional person. XD
> 
> Alright, enough rambling; it's 2021! Let's try to have a positive outlook on this year and hope that it isn't as much of a dumpster fire as 2020 was! XD


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